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Game 15: FLA 6 NYR 5 S/O, Rangers fall in pond hockey contest |
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The Rangers played a fire wagon hockey against the Panthers on Sunday, falling 6-5 in a shootout. After taking a 1-0 lead of Ryan Lindgren's first career NHL goal and playing a pretty solid first period, New York allowed a pair of goals in 30 seconds later in the frame. In the second, Filip Chytil notched gorgeous goal to tie the game at 2, but Florida on a beautiful tic-tac-toe sequence took a 3-2 lead on the power play. The Blueshirts scored twice in two minutes to take a 4-3 lead, but a bad change resulted in a breakaway goal to notch the contest. Chris Kreider's deflection goal on the man-advantage late in the stanza sent New York to intermission with the lead. But Brian Boyle tied the game in the third and won it in a shootout. New York faces Pittsburgh on Tuesday.
Game recap:
David Quinn Post-Game:
A few thoughts:
1)
Offensively, the Rangers were good. Lindgren notched his first of the season after a nice read and pinch down deep, Brady Skjei, back in after being a healthy scratch for an injured Marc Staal. tallied a lucky goal while the power play went 2-for-3. Chytil had a highlight reel goal while Kaapo Kakko scored as well. Kreider had his typical deflection marker
2)
Defensively, New York wasn't great. Henrik Lundqvist had to fend off several difficult shots and the tallies were in many cases off odd-man breaks or great plays. Aleksander Barkov's marker occurred on a blistering quick release. Dominic Toninato put the puck home after a series of saves and rebounds not cleared. Evgenii Dadonov's lamplighter resulted from finding space in the slot on the power play thanks to great passing. Vatrano's breakaway goal was after the seas parted in the middle of the ice on a bad change. Boyle got inside position to deflect Keith Yandle's point shot to tie the game. Wonder if we see Alexandar Georgiev back between the pipes against the Penguins.
3)
Faceoffs - to only win 24.1% of draws is embarrassing. Chytil won 12.5%, Strome 25%, that means your top two lines are playing without the puck a ton. I know you can recover the puck and just because you win a faceoff doesn't mean you retain possession, but it sure is a lot easier if you win the draw, especially in the offensive zone.
4)
Quinn's comment in his post-game conference summed it up well:
"As has happened through the course of this short season, when we get some goals, all of a sudden, our whole mindset tends to change,” Quinn said. “We just have to continue to focus on playing the right way and being committed to playing defense. We get very sloppy, we get very pond-hockey-ish at times. We trade chances with a team like that, and rarely are we going to get a point. So hopefully it’s a learning opportunity for us.”
“We have a lot of guys that fancy themselves offensive players,” Quinn said. “When you get to this level, and you’re trying to prove you can play in this league, you have a mentality that’s how you’re going to do it. In turn, you maybe neglect the areas that are really going to keep you here, consistently, and turn you into a winning hockey player at this level.”
New York failed to maintain their discipline and it cost them a win. Allowing a Florida team coming in off a 2-1 loss to dominate play was unacceptable. But this happens with a young team and it's growing pains. Unfortunately, this is likely to occur many more times this season until the squad gains maturity and consistency. At least, New York earned a point, but they should have ended the day with two and a three-game win streak instead of a bad taste in their mouth.
New York Rangers Blogger • 
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